Daddy Day in the Desert!

The tiled namesake fountain in the main restaurant and retail courtyard at La Quinta Resort and Club (CA).

As I mentioned a few months ago, we were planning to take our Father’s Day weekend back to the desert again this year… and we did! This is the third Father’s Day in a row that our family has spent out at the La Quinta Resort and Club, and as the saying goes, third time’s the charm. But really, anytime’s a charming time while out staying at La Quinta. A Waldorf-Astoria property (part of the Hilton family of hotels), this five-star, 40+-acre resort never fails to impress us. From the local but lovely (and in spots lush) landscaping to it’s 40-something pools on property, La Quinta manages to cater to high-end resort pleasure-seekers all while preserving a piece of history.

An open corridor leads to the renowned Spa at La Quinta Resort and Club (CA).

Just one of the 40-something pools on property at La Quinta Resort and Club (CA). Hotel rooms and suites surround these pools courtyard-style, which gives guests a sense of privacy and easy-access simultaneously. I took this photo during our inaugural visit sometime over Father’s Day weekend two years ago (2010).

Want to swim in a fountain? You can at La Quinta Resort and Club (CA)! This is C and T taking a dip back in October 2010. Yes, RMT’ers, you can officially swim in this fountain (look L in the photo for the pool-type filter, or at least that’s what we went by when going for it!).

This is a view from the far side of the pool in our courtyard this Father’s Day weekend (2012) at La Quinta Resort and Club (CA). Our room is to the left of center along that corridor in the background of the photo (and one of the families who joined us stayed in the room next door to the center of the photo). The mountain in the far background is what I call “my mountain” or my personal “happy place” – you know, the place you go to when asked to “think of your safe place” or whatever to center yourself? That mountain is mine!

Spanish-style tiles cover steps and other architectural points of interest throughout La Quinta Resort and Club (CA). One could photograph all of the different stairwells and make a coffee table book on just La Quinta’s tiled steps alone!

Opened in the 1920s as a getaway and hideaway for Hollywood-types, La Quinta Resort and Spa still loves to recount the old tales of its storied past. There are numerous, now-restored guest bungalows from the original days of the resort, such as the (Frank) Capra Suite, where its long-rumored and under great authority that he holed up and wrote “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Beautiful, hand-painted tiles adorn steps leading up to mini-suites and other rooms scattered about the property. Guests arrive in adobe-brick courtyards and structures through arched halls and doorways and their wooden and wrought-iron gates.

A distant view at sunset of the hotel reception building and “main flagpole” (which is oft-referenced as a landmark to help yourself find your way around the 40+ acres) at La Quinta Resort and Club.

The other family’s room who traveled with us is center-photo. This is a great example of just how close most of the rooms are to the smaller pools scattered throughout La Quinta Resort and Club; I took this photo poolside about 30 feet away from these guest rooms.

A view of the Dunes (or is it the Mountain? there are two here) Golf Course, one of two golf courses under control of La Quinta Resort and Club (three other courses operate under the PGA West moniker). We enjoyed this view as we had Father’s Day breakfast together in a very quiet clubhouse restaurant as golfers were already on the links thanks to a shotgun tournament. It was a blissful family meal with an equally peaceful view.

If a modern, 21st-century resort experience is one you desire, La Quinta Resort and Club is not the place for you to plan your next mini-vacation (or extended stay). However, if you are seeking a historic California experience full of charm, high-end customer service, and you also love to golf, swim, play tennis, and/or just require a place to hide yourself for a weekend (or week or month if you can swing it), then this would be perfect for you to enjoy any or all of those activities (or no activity at all!).

Even the littlest child-guest in our party knows how to chill out poolside at La Quinta Resort and Club (CA).

The three bigger kids (including T) rolling down the grassy slopes in the main courtyard at La Quinta Resort and Club (CA) outside of the patio at Adobe Grill, the Mexican restaurant on-property where we enjoyed dinner together as a group while listening to live music (check with resort on schedule).

The big kids (C included) pose for photos in front of the La Quinta Resort and Club (CA) fountain.

On this visit, we talked some friends into joining us at our favorite family destination. Yes, RMT’ers, La Quinta is a perfect place for families. From the pools to the playground, there’s something around every turn for the kids to enjoy. Heck, T even just loves running around the main pathways that meander the resort grounds or roll down the grassy hillsides near the main courtyard. And from the looks of it, his friends got a kick out of those simple pleasures also.

This time, T decided he would (finally) jump into the pool all on his own! He still needs to work on actual swimming, but that’s an easy fix with just a few more swim lessons and visits to La Quinta Resort and Club!

Now please understand and consider yourselves fairly warned: It is HOT out there from around June through September. I don’t mean summer hot, I mean desert, Death Valley-level, hotter-than-bejezus hot. However, this helps us out when it comes to booking rooms as they are considerably cheaper these three months of the year than any other time (and considerably more available). While Father’s Day weekend is growing in popularity (I’ve definitely noticed a bigger crowd as the years go by), we booked our rooms sometime back in February or March for under $100/night (excluding mandatory $27 resort fee per night, which includes parking, gym access, and other amenities on-site). I absolutely attribute that especially low rate to our planning ahead and, again, the hot, hot heat. Trust me that if we were to stay out there in, oh, say one of the more temperate, 80-degree months like March that the prices would be a wee tad higher than that (upwards of $300+/night at times for the smallest room – oh, yes, we’ve checked, and no matter how much we love it there, we still take a pass at that price!).

Father and son enjoying quality time together at La Quinta Resort and Club (CA) Father’s Day weekend 2012.

Yet having said all that, we love to go here at least two weekends a summer to getaway and enjoy all that La Quinta has to offer. We just load up on water and sunscreen, and we stay inside from about Noon until 3p.m; that plan has worked so far for us for the last three years and nine stays during that time, and we’ve not had a single complaint from T. But why would he complain? He’s usually allowed to swim as early as 8a.m. and as late as 9p.m. That’s what vacation time is all about, right RMT’ers?!

Have a wonderful summer vacation! Whether you are home all summer or getting away from it all for a weekend or two, enjoy the special time (and places) together with your families!